Russia denies making proposal on Iran's nuclear issue

    TEHRAN, Nov. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Iran vowed Saturday that it would not move uranium enrichment to other countries while Russia denied a recent report that it made a proposal to that effect to ease the tension over the Iranian nuclear issue.

    Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the country's vice-president and head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), made the statement to reporters after his meeting with visiting Russian Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov.

    "Iran's nuclear fuel must be produced in the Iranian territory," said Gholamreza, adding that foreign participation in Iran's enrichment program will be welcome, but the actual process must take place in Iran.

    Ivanov, who arrived here Friday for a three-day visit to Iran,reiterated Russia's stance that Iran's nuclear issue be settled through discussions within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

    He, meanwhile, denied a recently reported Russian proposal that Iran be allowed to keep uranium conversion while shifting the most sensitive part of nuclear fuel cycle - enrichment - to Russia to remove Western fears that the enrichment process could enable Iranto produce nuclear weapons-grade uranium.

    The United States has accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons, a charge has repeatedly rejected by Tehran. Recently, media reports said that the United States and the European Union (EU) have expressed their readiness to withdraw from the previous position that Iran must halt all enrichment-related activities and to allow Tehran to carry out uranium conversion on condition that the actual enrichment be performed in Russia.

    Just several hours before Aghazadeh's remarks on keeping enrichment at home, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijanihad reiterated an open stance previously made public on Friday that the country would consider a proposal over enrichment abroad if it could facilitate the nuclear issue.

    However, Aghazadeh's remarks, echoed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, shows that Iran had rejected the proposal to outsource sensitive production abroad that aimed to avert anescalation of tensions on Tehran's atomic programme."Iran is not favorable towards being sent to the UN Security Council but it will not accept pressure from the hegemonic powers," Ahmadinejad said during his talks with Ivanov, quoted by the student news agency ISNA.

    Uranium conversion is the process of turning uranium orenicknamed "yellowcake" to uranium hexafluoride gas (UF6), whichcan be fed into connected centrifuges to yield enriched uranium,the material that can be used to generate electricity as well asbuild nuclear weapons.

    In August, Tehran had rejected European proposal that Iran giveup enrichment in exchange for economic and technical incentives and resumed the uranium conversion work, prompting EU trio of Britain, France and Germany to suspend nuclear talks with Iran.

    The IAEA in late September adopted a EU-drafted resolution to call for Iran's full suspension of enrichment activities and paved the way for referral of the Iran nuclear issue to the UN Security Council, which could impose sanctions against Iran. But, the agency has not set a date for the referral and the IAEA board of governors is due to discuss the Iran nuclear issue on Nov. 24.

    In order to relieve the international pressure, President Ahmadinejad proposed in September to invite foreign companies in Iran's uranium enrichment program to keep the process transparent,which has been sniffed at by the EU and the United States.

    The Iranian cabinet on Nov. 2 approved Ahmadinejad's plan and authorized the AEOI to take measures necessary to attract foreignand domestic investment.

    Aghazadeh, Iran's nuclear chief, said on Nov. 9 that Iran willallow foreign countries and companies to hold a share as much as 35 percent for investment and practically carry out and monitor Iran's uranium enrichment program. Enditem